Take a close look at most blogs and what you'll likely see amidst the multitude of keyword-driven articles penned by self-proclaimed experts is a carefully mapped strategy to steer you towards purchasing an online course or e-letter subscription; essentially a site designed to sell you something.

DJBlog.org isn't buying it. Or selling it...

"What we're all about is providing an unbiased, ad-free educational platform where industry pros can share their expertise - not their egos, hence the .org"

As a self-described rag-tag, music-loving group of DJs, producers and musicians, DJBlog promises an honest, no-holds barred approach to gear, music, and performance designed to educate, entertain and when necessary ruffle a few feathers.

Currently on board as contributors and iconoclasts:

Brian Buonassissi -- Based out of NYC, DJ Brian B is a successful private-event headlining DJ/MC and multi-city multi-op with offices in Orange County CA, Destin, FL and The Big Apple.

Mitch Taylor -- In addition to owning and operating Michigan-based Taylored Weddings, Mitch is a much sought-after speaker and Gitomer Certified Advisor whose sales training, books and workshops keep him in high demand in multiple markets.

And you???

Help wanted...
DJ Blog is always looking to host any qualified advice, observations or viewpoints you might like to share via the interwebz. Must possess a genuine desire to help a DJ brother out. Unique insights (and Spell Check) a plus.

Spotlight: James GrayThe host of WPRK's decidedly different Gray Matter

As the host of a one-hour radio show he describes as Ambien-driving your '86 Caprice through a crowded farmer's market, James Gray is the most rare of breeds - an Orlando native and a DJ who gets to play whatever he wants.

And what he wants are rad tracks.

P.O. Welcome James! This is a little different for me, not that that's a bad thing, but unlike most DJs I interview, you're not spinning in clubs or performing at events - you're on college radio, the last bastion of independent programming. Can you describe your format? Can it be described?

J.G. Well, I focus on alternative classics -- New Wave, Post-Punk, Gothic, all that kind of 80s stuff. If you're familiar with bands like The Smiths, The Cure, Siouxsie And The Banshees, you'll have an idea of where I am. But because my format is so open, because I'm allowed to do basically whatever I want, I can play bands from the same era that people may not have heard of. My goal is to introduce new old music that didn't get the exposure it deserved.

P.O. How did you come by such an intimate knowledge of classics and deep cuts?

J.G. As a teenager I was introduced to the classic alternative format by Sunday Night Vinyl, a radio show created and curated by Erik Dennison [Promo Only's Director of Programming] for Orlando's Real Radio 104.1. Erik played some great music that still inspires me today.

J.G. Actually I have no idea; WPRK doesn't track its audience. But I conceive of my listeners as equal parts people my age and older who went to clubs to hear this music as it was coming out and younger people looking for something new that's not coming from a fetid corporate station, which is why I also play new stuff that fits into the alt-classic format - bands like Let's Eat Grandma, Enjoy, JPNSGRLS, Field Mouse, Art d'Ecco, and Bat For Lashes -- to keeps things fresh.

P.O. Any desire to play out? To strike a Jesus pose before a sea of adoring fans

J.G. The best I can hope for is that as long as my station manager doesn't come in and say "James, you no longer have a show," I can assume that what I'm doing is appreciated. And that's enough for me.

P.O. Parting thoughts?

J.G. Ultimately you can access the music I'm playing from a hundred different sources; you can listen to it absolutely anywhere. The value of what I do comes from a live DJ who's curating the collection and presenting it. It's a live DJ who shapes the sound and delivery of the show. Without the live DJ, the presentation is soulless.

Knowing your music and being able to lay your hands on exactly what you want, when you want it, is a cornerstone of good DJing. When it comes to the best ways to organize your playlists, various DJs take various routes, but they can generally be divided into three main methods.

1. Physical folders
The simplest way to organize your music is to create folders on your hard drive using Windows Explorer or Mac OSX's Finder. This is a truly "old school" way of doing things, but for some, it's all they need. It's simple, and it's a default that some people have never felt the need to mess with.

Of course, a huge limitation here is that if you want a song to appear in multiple folders, you're going to have to duplicate it, plus operating system browsers are really bad at handling metadata well, much of which is essential for DJ use.

2. Playlisting in iTunes
This is our preferred method because iTunes gives you a powerful Smart Playlist feature that can whip your library into shape quickly and keep it organized. Your iTunes collection also shows up in just about any DJ software out there, so you aren't software-dependent when it comes to accessing your playlists.

Using iTunes also makes it very easy to transfer music to your iPhone or iPad for on the go listening or DJing on an iOS device.

You still need to consider where you physically keep your music though, and beyond that you will need to set up iTunes® carefully for DJ use, as it can get confusing when iTunes is used for...
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About Digital DJ Tips: Featuring news, reviews, show reports, and tutorials,
Digital DJ Tips is one of the most-read DJ tech websites in the world, with over 60,000 students on its paid and free DJ courses.

For those of us intrigued by the promise, if not the price tag, of its revolutionary MCX8000 Media Player/Controller, there was a welcome addition to the Denon DJ product line recently announced at Expo 2016, in the form of the no less capable MC7000 Serato DJ Controller.

Featuring four-channel control running tandem with two 6" touch-sensitive jogwheels and a deuce of dedicated key sync and key change controls, the MC7000 looks much like the MCX8000, minus the screens and USB thumb drive, and even manages to up the ante with some features the MCX8000 missed, such twin USB jacks and the aforementioned key sync and key select controls that let you easily match the musical keys of songs or change them on the fly for more hands-on harmonic mixing.

Smaller than the flagship MCX8000 - compact enough, in fact, to provide limitless portability, equipped with all the bells and whistles needed for any application, and available at a price point that screams value with no whisper of compromise, the MC7000 checks all the boxes you'd expect in a top-shelf product, without the top-shelf price.

Creating Connections with Mitch Taylor: Two Words to be make you more "Able"

"Are you able?"

When one hears that question, they may wonder immediately if they are being asked if they are "able-bodied." Or they may think of someone asking if they can fit something into their busy schedule or not.

Those are good thoughts, but I would encourage you to start thinking of "able" in a different context.

Are you person-able?
Do your actions and words resonate with people? How can you ensure that you are more personable with those you come into contact with on a daily basis?

What are the two most important words in connecting? What might you say to become more personable; to draw out what is most important to someone?

Really...and?

People love to share stories. When you use those two important words you genuinely become interested. You want to know more. You gain a deeper level of connection because the person speaking feels engaged and they will go on with their story in greater detail, sharing more intimate details of the situation and providing you with a greater opportunity to connect on a different subject matter or in a different way.

Are you memor-able?
Empathy equals excellence. You create connection when you create an emotional experience for your potential client. How do you that; how can you ensure that you'll stay memorable with that person?

Here's one idea:
Hand a card to your clients at end of the sales meeting. This card is good for FREE (insert low cost/high value offer here) when you use the hashtag #InsertYourCompanyHashtagHere and post about your wedding on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. Third party advertising is huge and a great way to boost your reach in a market.

Remember:People respond best to a unique advantage. In order to capitalize on your unique advantage you must be personable and memorable in every point of contact you may have with someone.

The better "able" you are the more effective and enjoyable the experience can be.

Video Of The Month: #ItCanWaitWait for it... this could save your life.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, traffic fatalities rose 9% in the first six months of 2016. With increased travel over the summer holidays please take a moment to share this with everyone you love and make the streets safer for everyone.
#ItCanWait

Jacquelin Woodson is an acclaimed New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning author. In this video, she explains her own process for receiving critism from her colleagues and peers,
being vulnerable, and using those critiques to better serve her work.